State auditors next month will launch an investigation into the Texas Education Agency's failure to catch a cheating scheme at El Paso's largest school district two years ago.

In a reversal of course, state auditor John Keel on Friday agreed to a request from Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams that his office examine how the state education agency handled allegations that the El Paso Independent School District was gaming the federal accountability system.

The cheating scheme eventually led to a prison sentence for former Superintendent Lorenzo García, who admitted devising a plan that cast aside struggling students throughout the school district in an effort to boost school ratings.

Keel told Williams that his office expected the audit to run from January through March, followed by a final report released in June.

"The audit is currently in the planning phase, and we are gathering information to help us understand the agency's operations," Keel wrote.

The TEA twice cleared the EPISD of wrongdoing in 2010 after then-state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh alleged that the district was "disappearing" students at low-performing campuses by deporting them, transferring them, sending them to charter schools or failing them to prevent them from taking the sophomore test that counted toward federal accountability.

García used the findings by the state agency to accuse Shapleigh of attacking children.

Advertisement

The investigation by the state auditor's office will have two objectives, according to Keel.

The first will "determine whether the agency has effective processes and related controls to investigate possible noncompliance with school accountability requirements."

The other will "determine why the agency's investigation of the El Paso Independent School District failed to identify the reporting of inaccurate data and other instances of noncompliance with school accountability requirements."

Keel last month told the TEA that his office could not tackle the request until fiscal year 2014. He said that time frame was not a guarantee because his office was flooded with state-mandated audits.

Williams requested the audit in November after changing his mind about its value. He told the El Paso Times in October that he didn't believe an external audit was needed but changed his mind after talking with El Pasoans, and in acknowledgement of the reporting and concerns raised in the El Paso Times, according to his spokesman.

Williams said the state agency could not wait until 2014 to examine lapses in its investigative functions. He said then that the TEA would look to hire an outside company to conduct the audit.

"We were moving forward on putting together a request for proposal to have another entity do the external audit but at the same time we continued our contact with the auditor's office to see if there was any way they could move forward with it," said TEA spokesman Gene Acuña.

Acuña added, "The commissioner was very pleased to hear that they were reconsidering and they had in fact made a decision to move forward with it."

Keel's letter to the TEA outlined the scope and timeline of the audit but did not explain why the auditor's office had now determined that it could conduct the investigation.

"We will meet periodically with the agency's management to discuss interim and final audit results," Keel wrote. "Before releasing the report, we will provide management with a confidential draft and request formal written responses."

TEA officials will be required to respond within 10 business days, and their responses will be included in the final public report.

Williams told the El Paso Times in October that he did not believe the TEA's failures to catch cheating at the school district merited an external audit.

On Nov. 20, the TEA's internal audit director contacted the state auditor's office to talk about the external investigation.

The meeting came the day after the El Paso Times requested interviews with TEA officials about allegations that the state agency denied a 2010 request by an EPISD administrator that the agency conduct an audit of possible grade-level manipulation at Bowie High.

Agency officials have said the decision to seek the external audit was not tied to the newspaper's story.

The Texas Education Agency since August has doled out several sanctions to the school district, which it said showed an "utter disregard for the needs of students."

Those sanctions include lowering the district's accreditation status to probation and appointing a conservator who can overrule any decisions made by the district's interim superintendent and school board.

On Friday, Williams named Blanca Enriquez, an educator and Bowie High School graduate, as the final member of a board of managers expected to take control of the school district. The establishment of the five-member panel appointed by Williams is pending federal government approval.

Zahira Torres may be reached at ztorres@elpasotimes.com; 512-479-6606.

Sufjan Stevens, "Carrie & Lowell" (Asthmatic Kitty) Plucked strings and pulsing keyboards dominate the distinctive arrangements on Sufjan Stevens' latest album, and in the absence of a rhythm section, they serve to keep time. Full Story

ODESSA, Texas (AP) — A West Texas man has been charged with impersonating an officer by using sirens and flashing lights to skip to the head of the drive-thru line at a fast-food restaurant. Full Story